Eugene F. “Suds” Powell was received into the arms of his Heavenly Father on Sunday, Jan. 6, 2019.
He was born May 29, 1927, in Rowlesburg, a son of the late Harlen E. Powell and Sadie Catherine Lipscomb Powell.
He graduated from Rowlesburg High School where he was a three sport letterman in football, basketball and baseball. In July 1964, he was appointed to the position of supervisor of parking and transportation at West Virginia University. In January 1965, WVU President Paul Miller asked Suds to organize all university vehicles into a motor pool by July 31, 1965. The University Motor Pool went into operation July l, 1965, for all faculty and staff travel. In three years, the motor pool had 120 vehicles which provided transportation in excess of one million miles per year.
In July 1978, he was named the defensive driving instructor for WVU and taught four classes, two days a week for three years. A total of 3,000 faculty and staff took the eight-hour course. He retired from WVU in 1984 as director of parking, transportation and mail services after 40 years of service.
He was a charter member of the WVU Credit Union. He served on the loan committee and two terms on the Board of Directors. He served as president of the local union 847 of State, County and Municipal Employees for four years. He also served a two year term on Institutional and Municipal Parking Congress. He enjoyed many years of camping and was a past president of the local chapter of the Monongalia County Izaack Walton League. He traveled extensively with his family and visited every state in the U.S.
He was a 32nd degree mason of the Morgantown Union Lodge No. 4. He belonged to the Scottish Rite Valley of Wheeling Orient of West Virginia. He was a member of the Osiris Shriners of AAONMS of Wheeling and he was also a member of the Morgantown Shrine Club. He belonged to the Clan No. 154 Grand and Glorious Order of Hillbilly Degree, the Taylor County Clowns and the Mountaineer Patrol. In June 2002, he was recognized as an honorary graduate of the University of Hard Knocks, of Alderson-Broadus College.
He did volunteer work for the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army in Fort Myers, Fla., and the Morgantown Shrine Club, at which time he transported sick and crippled children to the Shriners Hospital in Erie, Pa. He was a member of Spruce Street United Methodist Church and served on the finance committee and as an usher for several years.
He was the last surviving member of his family, being preceded in death by his brothers, Roy Wesley Powell, Harlen E. “Ed” Powell, Robert L. Powell and William Thomas Powell; and a sister, Elizabeth Ann Cooper.
Surviving members of his family include his wife, Mary Jo, whom he married on May 29, 1949, in Terra Alta; daughters, Catherine Lynn Sussman and her husband, Mark, of North Miami Beach, Fla., Jo Beth Linzy and her husband, Robin, of Prescott Valley, Ariz., and Michelle Kelly Wolfe and her husband, Scott, of Wildwood Lake, Morgantown; grandchildren, Melissa Samuels, Jonathan Wylie, Shoshana Putney, Chaya Gold, Binyamin Sussman, Yael Fay, Rayanna Wolfe, Christian Wolfe, Jason Linzy and Sarah Linzy; and 18 great-grandchildren.
Special thanks are extended to Sundale Nursing Home staff for their excellent care provided in the last year.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Spruce Street United Methodist Church, 386 Spruce St., Morgantown, WV 26505.
Family and friends are invited to gather at McCulla Funeral Home from 3-5 and 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, and from 10 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 10, until the 11 a.m. funeral service with Pastor Neil Leftwich officiating. Interment will follow at Terra Alta Cemetery.
A celebration of life luncheon will take place at Spruce Street United Methodist Church’s Fellowship Hall at noon Sunday, Jan. 13, for a time of food and fellowship.
Condolences: mcculla.com
